The Walking Dead Comic Power Rankings: Issue #161

Amidst the pandemonium of another Walking Dead war it can be difficult to judge the winners and losers. Does new Whisperer leader Beta hold all the power? How threatening is Negan without Lucille? We rank the major players below:

1. Rick

Don’t let this cup of coffee fool you – Rick is still the biggest power player in The Walking Dead and shows no signs of decline. Sure, he may not be fighting alongside Maggie and Carl at The Hilltop but he IS preparing his next moves for future battles and The Saviors. If there’s anyone who can emerge on top after The Whisperer War, it’s Rick.

2. Maggie

Unfortunately, Beta’s fire-arrow barrage looks to be the end of Maggie’s Hilltop. Despite the devastation, Maggie stood strong and guided her people to victory. But what will she do now? Does she remain the leader? Next month’s final Whisperer War issue might give us answers.

3. Beta

Beta’s been catapulted atop the power rankings since he took over as leader of The Whisperers. But after getting defeated in (the unofficially named) battle for The Hilltop we had to take him down a notch. He may not be as effective as Alpha, but Beta still has THOUSANDS of skin-wearing soldiers at his disposal. He lost the battle, but will he lose the war?

4. Dwight

Dwight’s never been more powerful than he is right now. He disguised himself and his fighters in skin suits, decimated dozens of Whisperers, and had time to call a groveling Negan “pathetic.” Feels good, doesn’t it Dwight?

5. Carl

Carl’s becoming a more capable and selfless leader each issue. During the fire he put his life on the line to save as many Hilltopians as he could. Despite being momentarily incapacitated Carl’s showed a lot of poise, which is why he’s higher up in these rankings. You raised him well, Rick.

6. Andrea

Even though Andrea’s been quieter in this war compared to the one against Negan, she still remains as Rick’s second-in-command. Involved in all Whisperer War plans, Andrea’s paramount to their success.

7. Michonne

Michonne’s been pivotal in the fight against The Whisperers. (Conjuring up images of the woman riding the horse in the Westworld intro,) Michonne’s led her team alongside Dwight and Jesus to wipe out the Whisperers one by one. Wearing skin suits is bad enough, but getting sliced through the throat with her katana? Yikes!

8. Eugene

After spending countless days corresponding with a community who claims to live in Ohio, Eugene has decided to join the fight against The Whisperers in a real way. In this issue we saw him take the enormous risk of transporting ammunition to Alexandria during the night. Faced with unprecedented danger, Eugene insisted this was the right move to help his group.

9. Jesus

Similar to Michonne, Jesus has also served as a valuable asset to Rick’s front lines. There’s nothing quite like seeing an armored man who resembles Christ riding mowing down Whisperers on a horse.

10. Lydia

After putting a bullet in the head of one the Whisperers it’s been increasingly more difficult to doubt Lydia’s loyalty to the Survivors. We would love to rank her higher but until she discovers the fate of her mother, we’re going to keep her towards the bottom.

11. Negan

The loss of Negan’s beloved bat Lucille has brought out a side of Negan we have never seen. (As explained in the “Here’s Negan” backstory, Lucille was also the name of Negan’s dead wife). Although Negan single-handedly killed Alpha and took a direct shot at Beta, he still holds no power in any community at the moment.